The aim of this component is to support the program of faculty development and to provide resources for additional oral health research by establishing a Core Oral Microbiology Laboratory in Meharry's School of Dentistry. The faculty development component of this application takes place in the context of a small research project which examines how children acquire S. mutans infection. The project requires that bacteria be cultured from plaque and saliva samples of mothers and children. Meharry investigators and the core laboratory staff will learn the techniques for doing this from collaborators at UAB, but for the study to be established in Nashville, Meharry needs a laboratory dedicated to oral microbiology. The Core Oral Laboratory will serve as that facility.